Using waste to supply steam for industry transition: Selection of target industries through economic evaluation and statistical analysis.

Global warming mitigation requires worldwide action in a wide range of fields, including waste treatment and management. In Japan, demands to transform waste into energy as a greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy are increasing. The use of steam generated from waste treatment plants as a source of energy in industries is a promising energy recovery method. In recent years, the feasibility and economic potential of conversion of waste into energy have been evaluated; however, economic efficiency is not always achieved. Therefore, it is necessary to classify steam supply targets based on profitability. Herein, we selected appropriate industries from different types and scales of industries for steam supply based on analyses carried out in Aichi Prefecture. Therefore, industries were classified based on their production shipment value. We also calculated the maximum profit potential from steam supply from waste treatment plants and the steam demand potential of each mesh. We applied data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate energy efficiency and regression analysis to evaluate the potential effects on growth. The appropriate industry was estimated through decision tree analysis based on DEA scores for the mixed industries cluster. We extracted four appropriate industries: pulp, textiles, ceramics, and steel. For each industry, we calculated the number of firms required in the mesh for economic benefit. We also selected industries that could be used to explore the potential of adopting the developed methodology for other regions and industries and for identification of waste treatment plants that could participate in steam supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]